Chapter 4: Rest and Relaxation

Soap POV

I walk down a hallway, looking around, Office, Office, meeting room, storage. I'd be wrong to say that I'm not lost, I've been looking for the common area for about 10 minutes, and I'm embarrassed that it wasn't my first time passing that storage room. Office, unlabeled door, bathrooms... Common area. I stop, "Thank fuck" I say to myself, I walk in acting as if I haven't been aimlessly walking trying to find this place.

In the room, there's a couch sat in front of a tv, along with an armchair next to it. Around the room there are people sitting around, chatting, and using the limited time they have to relax. I look around for a seat, preferably something comfortable, The massage chairs are taken and the couch is stacked with the people on it watching Becker reruns.

"He never takes off his mask" I hear a woman say beside me, "People don't get promotions talking about their superiors" a man says. I look around for the person they could be talking about, not many people wear masks here, well from what I've seen. "Him being a higher rank is what makes him hot, I might go for it, and we'll see if he takes the mask off for me" the woman says, smirking at her friend.

I lean against the wall, pretending to look at my phone, Some mid-day entertainment, let's see who she goes after. I watch as she walks across the room over to a man sitting by himself in a arm chair that's facing a window, reading a book, whilst the table next to him has a cup of what looks like a brown substance.

Women always go towards the alcoholic types, I roll my eyes, I keep watching. She walks over, leaning down next to him, I hear her murmur something I can't quite hear. I look around the room, If I move, I could hear better, but I could also jeopardize me spying. I look to the woman's friend, who's watching her from the same distance I am, She'll likely just come back to tell her friend what happened.

I put my phone away crossing my arms, staying leaned against the wall, I watch her closely. The man in the chair takes a sip of his drink, paying little attention to the woman. She moves closer to the chair, sitting on the armrest, I scoff quietly, Mission accomplished I guess. Just as I think that, the woman quickly stands from the armrest, I furrow my brow, Oh? I turn to her friend who was also watching.

He's is rubbing his eyebrows, cursing under his breath, I turn back to the woman, Well isn't this interesting. She's now standing straight with her hands behind her, "Yes lieutenant, apologies lieutenant" The woman says. She lowers her hands and start to walk back in the direction of her friend, the man in the chair unbothered by the interaction.

I pull out my phone to avoid suspicion, "What happened?" The man asks, the woman lets out a sarcastic sounding scoff. "Well, it was going good, I was talking to him about what he was reading, he ignored me but as soon as I sat down he immediately told me to run 20 laps" She explains. I smile, trying to hold my laughter in, "I told you not to go over there"  The man says, he chuckles at his friends punishment.

"Fucking lieutenants" The woman says annoyed, "Something you won't be doing" her friend jokes, she shoves his arm. They start towards the exit, "Maybe you can give up on Mr.Riley, and try, oh I don't know, someone of your rank?" The woman friend suggests. She lets out another annoyed sigh, "Shut up" She says, they both leave.

I look up from my phone, over to the man sitting down, Mr.Riley? Simon? I look around. People are relaxing, unaware of anything that's happened, I look back over to him. He continues to read his book, I smile, I'll give it a try.

Ghost POV

'As I said these words I busied myself among the pile of bones of which I have before spoken. Throwing them aside, I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar.' I take a sip of my bourbon, keeping my eyes on the page, 'With these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche.'

My eyes trail off the paper, I rub the bridge of my nose, trying to regain my focus. If I have to keep dealing with her, might just transfer her somewhere else so I don't have to deal with this shit anymore. I let out a sigh, look back to the paper, Focus on the book, unlike Fortunato, I don't have to worry about being restrained as my enemy seals me behind a wall.

{Which actually happens in the story}

A person sits down on the arm of my chair, facing away from me, blocking me from my drink. I feel annoyance rise in me, I close my eyes, letting out a sigh. "Gold, if you're looking to be discharged, you're going down the right path" I say sternly, my voice cold. "Should I join her in running Sir?" I quickly look up, "MacTavish" I quietly say.

He smiles down at me, crossing his arms, "Morning Lieutenant" he says gleefully. I'm a bit shocked that he's sitting on the arm of my chair, "Were you listening in to a conversation I had with my subordinate?" I ask. "She wants to be your subordinate alright" John whispers, turning away "What was that?" I ask.

He clears his throat, "Anyway, what are you reading?" he asks, I smirk at his remark. I put my finger in the book closing it, "The Cask Of Amontillado" I say, he raises his eyebrow. He turns towards me more, looking down at me, "What is it about?" John asks. I caress the spine of my book thinking for a moment.

"Don't you have something you should be doing, MacTavish?" I ask, he gives me another slight smirk "I'm on break, am I taking away from your daytime drinking lieutenant?" He asks. I reach over him, grabbing my drink, "If you've been through what I have, you'd call it just drinking" I say, taking a sip of my drink.

John scoffs, "Just tell me about your book" he requests, I look up to him, his eyes sparkle a faint interest towards me and what I have to say. I reach back over him, putting my drink down, "If I tell you, can I go back to reading?" I ask, looking up to him. "I'll think about it" John says, I close my book handing it to him, he looks it over.

"It's a short horror fiction, the story of a man named Montresor who kills his enemy, Fortunato, by sealing him behind a wall, as revenge for what he did to him" I explain. John shows me a confused expression, "You got all that, MacTavish?" I ask. His eyes looks away for a moment, nodding, "Yeahhh, yep, that made sense" John says.

I softly chuckle at his response, "Anyway, how are you liking it here?" I ask,  taking my book from him putting it to the side. "There's a lot of.. Interesting characters here, but other than that I'd say I'm fitting in well" John says, his smile reforming on his face. He quickly furrows his brow looking down at me, "This isn't a 'Tell-on-your-shitty-coworkers' thing is it?" John asks. I motion to my comfortable sitting position and book, "On break" I say.

He observes, looking to my almost empty drink that he's blocking me from getting. He turns back to me, "Well if you're.." He starts to do air quotes, "On-break, then my first couple days have been good, well except today" John says. His last statement peaks my interest, "What happened today?" I ask, he rubs his chin, as if he's pondering his answer.

"I saw this guy, British bastard, drinking during his break" John says, as if he's shocked. From his description, I can tell he's talking about me, I rub my chin curiously. "Sounds like an interesting character for sure" I say, I watch as John holds in a stifled laugh. I softly smile under my mask, Do I deserve to be this envious of other people?

My smile fades, I rub my fingers together, trying to calm myself. "What are you planning on doing after work today?" John asks, "Going home, and drinking, if I'm lucky I'll sleep" I respond. I turn my head towards him, "What are you doing when you get home?" I ask. He crosses his arms again, turning his attention to the roof, thinking for a moment. "Well today I have to pick up Maddison after work, so I'm gonna go home, make dinner for us anddd... watch a movie after I put her to sleep".

He look back down at me, his expression slightly fading, talking about his casual father duties. I continue to feel the skin on my index finger with my thumb, the rough callous making it hard to smoothly glide it across. John and I meet eyes once more, I watch him as he studies my face, Are my eyes that intriguing to him? "MacTavish.." I say softly, beckoning him to listen closer.

He leans his ear closer to me, I lean forward, being this close I can hear his breaths. They're soft, calm, unbothered breaths. They seem relaxed, this is new to me, in my life I've never had someone be this calm whilst being so close to me. I move my mouth close to his ear, in a low tone I whisper "You like to stare, don't you?" I question.

He quickly jolts, sitting up, turning his face away from me, holding his ear. I lean back in my chair, watching him, I can't see his expression. I look to my lap, Was that.. Me? I breath into my mask, smelling my breath. Bourbon, tobacco, and whatever else I had today, I should brush my teeth once I get home.

"Apologies lieutenant" John says, he turns stands from the arms of my chair, still facing away from me. I furrow my brow, looking away, I didn't know my breath was that bad, I put my book in my lap, picking up my glass. I finish the last bit of bourbon I have, No point in wasting it, After this interaction I feel slightly embarrassed. When did my breath get so bad, is it always like this?

I stand from the chair, Let's just go, I turn to leave, "Sir.." I hear John call out. I turn to him, he turns back to me, his face has more of a serious look to it than a moment ago. I raise my eyebrow, I watch as the smaller man walks closer to me. He stares up at me for a moment, I'm confused what he's doing.

"I.. Was wondering what time you get off work today" John says, I look him suspiciously. "Whatever time I please" I say confidently, which was a lie, I still had to ask if I could get off early. These days, Price had been more lenient with me when I asked for time off, I was confident that I could get off early to do whatever John asks of me.

He shows a expression mixed with relief and confusion, "Well when you choose to get off, would you like to join me, and probably watch a movie?" John asks. I stand there for a moment, processing his words, my eyes soften slightly as I realize what he just asked. Watch a movie?  I cross my arms looking down at him, "At.. Your house?" I ask.

He nods lightly, "Ok then, what's your address?" I ask, I shock myself asking this. Daring today aren't I? I watch as John reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out a sharpie pen. He offers his hand out to me, confusing but willing, I hesitantly place my hand on his. He pulls it in, the side of my hand, resting on his chest as he begins to write on it.

He struggles to get the pen working, I can feel the pen scrape across my skin, leaving a bit of ash, but I don't mind. I notice the fabric of Johns shirt, the silk feeling allows me to slightly move my pinky, his chest hidden behind his layers. I wonder, would he have scars scattered across his body, like a tattered battle field.

I start to follow his heart beats, they we're going at a normal pace but.. now they're going a little bit faster. He's nervous? I look up from his chest to his blue eyes, they're focused on writing. They move along with his eyebrows, he's trying his best to keep the pen from running out. Watching him struggle makes me smile, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like watching him write on my hand.

Does Maddie make the same face when she draws? The thought tickles my brain, behind me I hear a collective laughter. My smile quickly fades, and so does the feeling I was enjoying, I quietly clear my throat. John stops writing, putting the pen back into his pocket, he lifts my hand showing me it.

"Address, room number, and the time" John says, I look at my hand. His handwriting is decent, but along with the information, he's managed to scribble a drawing of a skull. I look to him, he's patiently waiting for me to say something. Say something, "6?" I say, "That works" John replies quickly. He looks to his phone, his expression changes slightly, he looks back up to me.

He regains his joyous expression once we meet eyes, he gives me small smile, turning around and walking off while typing into his phone. I watch him, the air around me all of a sudden feels cold. I make a fist out of my hand, feeling my nails press into my palm as the door closes when he leaves the room.

I feel my chest tighten from my relaxed state, I look around the room, Did they notice?.. Shallow conversations, typing into screens, sleeping softly.  I let out a quiet breath, looking down, in my chest is a strange shaking feeling. I look back to the writing on my hand. Tonight at 6, I reach over to my pocket for my gloves, putting them on.

Tonight at 6, This feeling is strange, been a while since I felt it. I lift my head, grabbing my book and glass, I start walking out of the room, Tonight at 6, tonight at 6, tonight at 6.  I stop walking, Thinking for a second, I should memorize his address too, I furrow my brow.

Is that weird to do?

{HEYYYY, ignore me missing 2 saturdays, had to go on vacation in another state or whatever. I'm gonna be back on it, swear to god, also the book that ghost was reading was an excerpt from the cask of amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe. It's fucking wild, you should read it.}